WW1 MACHINE GUNS

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Transcript of WW1 MACHINE GUNS

WWI MACHINE GUNS WWI machine guns were used to save each side from the others storming into their territory their wide spread fire and rapid ability to fire bullets stalemated the battlefield for days on hand the only true way to to get past these massive forces was to find a tactical way around them. German gun British gun US gun The Model 1917, first used towards the end of WWI, was Browning's first recoil operated/gas assist* design, one which is still in use today in the .50 caliber HB. The 1917 had a bottom plate that fit inside the two side plates, and was held in place by sliding dovetails instead of rivets, a design that proved inadequate against the forces of the recoiling parts, which tended to cause the dovetails to shoot loose over time, allowing the side plates to separate. A stirrup was added under the bottom plate to reinforce the side plates, as can be seen in the photo at right. (* The booster at the barrel's muzzle traps expanding gases, pushing the barrel rearward.) The Vickers Machine Gun was used extensively throughout the 20th Century the Mk. I - remained in British Army service from 1912 through to 1968. It was used by the majority of fighting units, both Regimental and Corps based. Units were specially established to use it at particular times, such as the Machine Gun Corps, and the majority of other fighting units have some link to one of its variations. The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The machine gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate: one to fire, one to feed the ammunition, the rest to help carry the weapon, its ammunition and spare parts The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War It was a belt-fed water-cooled machine gun that served alongside the much lighter air-cooled Browning M1919. It was used at the battalion level, and often mounted on vehicles (such as a jeep). There were two main iterations of it: the M1917, which was used in World War I; and the M1917A1; which was used thereafter. The M1917 was used on the ground and on some aircraft, and had a firing rate of 450 round/min; the M1917A1 had a firing rate of 450 to 600 round/min.

, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an adoption of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim Gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 remained in service until the outbreak of World War II due to shortages of its successors, the MG 13 Dreyse and the MG34. It was retired from front-line service by 1942.

The MG08, like the Maxim Gun, operated on the basis of short barrel recoil and a toggle lock; once cocked and fired the MG08 would continue firing rounds until the trigger was released (or until all available ammunition was expended). Its practical range was estimated at some 2,000 metres (2,200 yd) up to an extreme range of 3,600 metres (3,900 yd). The MG08 was mounted on a sled mount (German: Schlitten) that was ferried between locations either on carts or else carried above men's shoulders in the manner of a stretcher.

It could reach a firing rate of up to 400 rounds per minute using 250-round fabric belts of 7.9mm ammunition, although sustained firing would lead to overheating; it was water-cooled using a jacket around the barrel that held approximately one gallon Using a separate attachment sight with range calculator for indirect fire, the MG08 could be operated from cover. Additional telescopic sights were also developed and used in quantity during the war.